Top five gaming laptops: SA price roundup

In this article we’ll be taking a look at the prices for various brands of gaming laptops from various retailers.

Gaming laptops have few specific criteria to qualify for selection – mostly, they need to have a strong GPU component. This means that a discrete graphics processor needs to be used and can be anything from the Nvidia Geforce GT640M to the AMD Radeon HD7970M. So long as its discrete, it counts. But a lot of manufacturers, including chipmakers like Nvidia, know that attaching the “gaming laptop” moniker to a unit typically means they’ll be able to sell it for a higher price to attract the gamers.

But there are several models out there that offer you the best bang for your buck. We’re taking a look at five of those laptops today – all are great choices and all will be able to play most, if not any, game you throw at it.

The table below shows the prices of various gaming laptops available from local retailers. The lowest prices are highlighted in Bold. If a product is listed as “Sold Out”, or is out of stock, that price does not make it into the table.

Gaming Laptops	Laptopdirect	Wootware	Ikonix	Rebel Tech	Evetech
Toshiba Satellite L850-F313 15.6″	R7,857
Lenovo Ideapad Y500A 15.6″	R9,635				R9,999
MSI GX60 15.6″	R13,376	R13,320	R12,500	R12,386	R13,799
MSI GE70-OND 17.3″	R17,002		R16,775	R16,313	R17,599
Schenker XMG Pro P502 17.3″	R21,962

Toshiba Satellite L850

Toshiba’s Satellite L850 is the cheapest laptop in this lineup that can be considered for gaming purposes. The combination of an Intel Core i5-3210M, AMD’s Radeon HD7670 1GB DDR3, and a run-of-the-mill 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 screen keeps the bill of materials low and gives it the ability to run most games at medium settings at 720p resolution.

Although its no match for some of the other beauties here, the lack of frills and features you may never use make it a wise choice for the sensible buyer. Notebookcheck awarded the L850 76/100. They liked the quiet cooling system, low price and graphics performance, but disliked the glossy outer shell as well as the low battery life because there’s no switching technology to use the integrated Intel HD graphics.

Lenovo Ideapad Y500A

Lenovo’s Ideapad Y500A is the company’s first step into the world of laptops geared towards gamers. It boasts a Intel Core i7-3630QM, Nvidia Geforce GT650M 2GB GDDR3 graphics, a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 screen and, surprise, a sexy deep red backlit keyboard. The Y500A has proved popular with value-seekers, particularly the Y500B version in the US and Europe that ships with a 15.6-inch 1080p screen.

Several variants are also capable of adding in a second GT650M in SLI, boosting frame rates and allowing you higher performance when you hook the laptop up to a 1080p monitor. Other features like a high-end speaker setup, a Blu-Ray drive and USB 3.0 ports sweeten the deal even further. Wired gave it 8/10, calling it the “cure for the common Ultrabook.”

MSI GX60

MSI typically rules the roost for budget gaming laptops above R10,000 and the GE60 is no different. This one is a bit different because it comes with AMD’s A10-4600M quad-core processor, the Radeon HD7970M graphics card with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM, a 1080p 15.6-inch LED-backlit screen and a backlit keyboard designed by Steelseries. Its one of the few high-end laptops running AMD’s APU processors and its getting a refresh this year.

Although the A10-4600M may become a bottleneck with such a monstrous card attached to it, that works in the GX60’s favour – all games are playable on the laptop with the highest settings available and, in most cases, frame rates don’t drop to an unplayable rate. The important thing to note is that boosting up the quality settings and native resolution doesn’t result in large frame drops, so the extra visuals are effectively free and won’t reduce performance any lower. Tom’s Hardware gave it their “Smart Buy” award.

MSI GE70-OND

Once again, MSI is the best pick out of the gaming laptops available in a similar price range and the GE70 is quite something. With a full HD 17.3-inch screen, Intel’s Core i7-3630QM processor, Nvidia GTX660M 2GB GDDR5 graphics and extra goodies like a backpack and free mouse, its one of the better picks for those of you looking for strong graphics performance with one of the strongest mobile chips in Intel’s lineup. It does not, however, feature the same keyboard backlighting as the GX60.

The design is rather catchy and I love the look of the brushed aluminium top panel as well as the racing car-like red inserts. Its a solid, timeless design and it will go down well with gamers looking to make a statement. Notebookcheck reviewed the GE70 and rated it 75/100; they generally liked the performance and the onboard speakers. They wished for an IPS panel, but for the price its not a bad deal.

Schenker XMG Pro P502

Schenker is a well-known laptop manufacturer in Germany and produces notebooks for a range of clients and for consumers. The XMG lineup is actually available in SA under two brands – mySN, which is the local brand for Schenker, and Roccat, which re-brands the laptops and sells a few models through Dion Wired.

The XMP Pro P502 is expensive, but its similar in specifications to other laptops in the same price range and offers some extra adjustment. The laptop uses an MXM graphics slot, so you can put in something a little more powerful to help stall off a full upgrade. Unlike other laptops you can also swap out the Intel processor for something more beefy.

The model I picked comes with comes with a Core i7-3610QM processor, the Geforce GTX675M graphics card with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM along with a full HD 1080p screen and a customisable backlit keyboard. Notebookcheck reviewed the P501 (without the backlit keyboard) and rated it 85/100.